Igniter.



PATENTED JAN. 21, 1908.

G. J. SCHULTZ.

IGNITER. I AYPLIOATION FILED JAN/24. 1907.

[5 2 W672 (077 G002 J J 012a! 52. By

ilNi-TED $TATES PATENT GEORGE J. SCHULTZ, OF NEW YORK,'N. Y., ASSIGNORTO BENJAMIN BRTSCOE, OF

TiiRRYTOli'N, NEW YORK. I

ronrrnn. I

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 21, 1908.

Amman and January 24.1907. Serial 1%. 353.770.

- To all whom it may concern.

it known that I, GEORGE J. SCUULTZ, a citizen oi the United States,residing in the borough. of Brooklyn, New York city, in the county ofKings and State of New Y orlr,

have invented certain new and useful 1111- nrevements in lgniters, ofwhich the followa specification.

This invention relates to and has for an obj t to provide an improvedigniter or spark ping for use particularly in intcriu l combustionengines, and has for an object r. provide a device of this characterwhich is not only highly effective, but which will permit an observerfrom the outside to ascertain whether or not the proper sparks are beinggiven oii from the sparking points, and explosions are taking placewithin the explo- .sion chamber to which the igniter is applied.

in internal combustion engines there has been considerable diiiicultyexperienced, particularly in an engine having several cylinders, oflocating the spark plug difficulties and finding out which of thecylinders is not working properly. It. frequently happens that one ofthe-igniters will become clogged up with soot or its circuitinterrupted, and

the operator, although. aware of the fact that explosions are notoccurring in one of the cylinders, cannot tell in just whichcylinder thediliiculty exists; and it is to furnish means for ascertaining this thatthe present improvement has been constructed.

In its preferred form this invention will embody a casing or plug in thenature of a bushing to be screwed into the explosion chamber and havingan opening through it, and a body of insulating material, carrying atleast one of the sparking points, of appreciably less diameter than theinside diameter of the casing, will carry a collar or flange of sometranslucent material, mica for exampie. The collar or flange will beclamped into position, preferably by being clamped against the casing bya screw collar, for instance. The translucency of this collar willenable the operator to observe whether or not propersparks are beinggiven oft, and whether explosions are regularly taking placewithin theexplosion -chamber. This will enable him not only to tell whether theigniter is giving out sparks at proper intervals and at proper timingrelative to the positions of the-pistons, but whether the sparks areeffective to cause explosions in the ent improvement.

chamber. if it is found that there are no sparks it may then be believedthat the di'l'iiculty exists either in the fouling of the points or somediiliculty within the circuit. If, however, it is found that sparks arebeing given out and no explosions occur it will be known that thetrouble should be sought for in the fuel or its supply, being either toorich or too poor to support combustion or explosome; or in someinstances the feed pipes of or or morecylinders or explosion chambersmay become clogged or damaged. Much time can be saved by knowing whetherthe trouble is at the igniter or arises from some other source; and iithe sparks are not being given oii at the proper time this may beremedied by advancing or retarding the spark as conditions indicate.

In the drawings accompanying and forming a part of this specificationFigure 1 is a view partly in longitudinal section and partly in sideview of a practicable form'o'f my pres Fig. 2 is a side view of thedevice illustrated in Fig. l with the exception that the contacts orpoints are differently arranged. Fig. 3 is an illustration of anotherform of my improvement; in this instance the casing or plug forconnection to the explosion chamber is shown in longitudinal section andthe insulator portion is shown in side view; and Fig. 4 is anillustrationpartly in longitudinal section and partly in en trated inFig. 3 detached from the casing.

In the present drawings I have shown two styles of construction, thatis, one re )resent-s what is known as the mica spark plug, and the otherrepresents the combined mica and porcelain plug. Having reference now toFig. 1, a casing or plug 10 is illustrated in the form of a bushing,which is intended for connection to an ignition or explosion cluimber,

as for instance; the explosion chamber or e View of the form ofinsulator illus-- .nular space between the casing and the perimeter ofthe insulation. The disks at the portion 19' may be made of considerablylarger radius for a short distance, and being made of translucentmaterial, mica for instance, will permit the passage of rays of lightfrom sparks and explosions. In assembling the device theportion 19 ofthe enlarged disks will be placed upon the outer end of the casing,which end may be e.\'. t'crnally screw-threaded, as at 2Q, for receivinga screw threaded cap 21, which will have an overhanging portion 22 forengaging this collar or liange of the large disks and pressing themtightly together, and against the end portion of then-rising, thusmaking asecure closure and on which will be sufficiently translucent toadmit the observation of light within the chamber to which. the igniteris applied. which light may either be from sparks of explosions, orboth. The shalt 14 is shown. extended, as at 23), and screw threaded forreceiving a binding screw 24 for the attachment of oneof the electricwires. The head 18 or the end oi the shaft 14 will carry the spark point25, r hich in the present instance is shown bent over toward the casingit) which will form the other circuit terminal.

The structure shown in Fig. 2 diiiers from that shown in Fig. 1 in thatthe spark point 26 is beyond the end of the casing and is straight andwill cooperate with a point 27 i which is carried by the casing and isbent over the proper distance.

The device shown in 3 and 4 dii'lers from that shown in Fig. 1 in thatthe shat't 140 has upon it a shorter insulation sleeve 1 10 over whichiscarried a pair of insulation devices .160, Which may be made ofpereelain and clamped together by means of a sad 180 and'a pair of setnuts 170, and between the ends of which, and overlying the sleeve 150,will be a collar or flange 190 of some translucent insulating material,as for instance, mica, and this may be set up in a similar casing tothose shown in Figs. '1 and 2, in the present instance it-bei'ng shownin connection with spark points such are illustrated in Fig. 2, and towhich casing and points like reference characters have been addechIt'Wlll be seen that when it is desired to apply the device which hasbeen assembled in the manner described, the screw threaded portion 11will be screwed into the proper screw threaded opening in the casing ofthe chamber to which it is to be applied, and then by-locking throughthe flange or collar of translucent material the operation of the sparkmay be observed. The spark can be seen to flash and the explosion of thegases to follow it. If it is found that the sparks are not being givenoil properly it will simply be necessary to unscrew the cap 21, removethe insulator 13, clean the points and replace the device. If the sparksare seen to be given off regularly but no flash from theexplosion isseen then the trouble must be looked for at some pointother than theignit-er, and will often obviate the removal of the igniter for findingout if it is really working. The space 30 between the insulator and thecasing not only serves to convey the rays to the trans lucent plate butalso acts as a space for preventing collection of soot between the twosparking points, and this non soot collecting space'is relatively longcompared with the length of this device as a whole.

Having described; my'invention I claim:

1. The combination with a casing inthe form of a bushing for enteringinto an ignition chamber, a sparking point, a body or insulatingmaterial carrying said sparking point and of smaller radius than theradius of the inner wall of the casing, a plate of translucent materialcarried by said insulating material, and. means for clamping said pla eagainst the easing for ail'ording a translucent closure for the spacebetween the insulation and the casing.

2. The combination with a casing in the form of a bushing forapplication to an ignition chamber, a sparking point, an insulatorcarrying the sparking point and located within the bushing and leavingan annular space between its outer perimeter and the inner perimeter ofthe casing, and a translucent closure andconnection between theinsulator and the bushing. I

The combination with a shaft, of a sparking point carried thereby, disksof mica arranged upon the shaft for insulating the same, and several ofthese disks at one portion being of larger radius than the normalradius'of the disks at the outer portions for forming a translucentplate.

4. The combination of a body of conducting material carrying a sparkingpoint, of an insulator upon said body of conducting material, and aplate of mica carried by said body of conducting material and extendingbeyond said insulating material for providing securing means for thedevice and for permitting observation of sparks and explosion flashes.

GEORGE J. SCHULTZ.

' Witnesses:

'. CnAs. LYON RUSSELL,

FRED. J. Donn.

